This project is the first ever comprehensive database of Hebrew novels from the first one published in Vilna in1853 (Ahavat Zion by Avraham Mapu) to novels that are being published in Hebrew nowadays. In this project, literary scholar Yael Dekel aims to catalogue the content of the entire corpus of the Hebrew novel. as closely read by many readers. Using this data, scholars will be able to analyze the content and thematic structures, as well as publication and narratological data of the Hebrew novel, relative to changing social and political conditions, cultural shifts and influences.
Collecting the data for this project is done through community science: individual responses to questionnaires distributed to the public of readers. The questionnaire is designed to collect data in several main categories (bibliography, narratology, time and space, themes, language) using multiple-choice questions, linear scales, and a few short-answer questions that allow for more personal and interpretive responses.
As of October 2024, the database comprises over 1,000 questionnaires, on circa 750 different Hebrew novels, and is increasing daily. Thus, so far, The Hebrew Novel Project includes close reading-based data on around 8% of the Hebrew published novels of all times.
